Blended Learning to Continue Into Next Year

This article is part of an editorial series on Covid-19

Hussain Al Hammadi, Minister for Education, said that although he "firmly hoped" to see all students back in the classroom for the start of the next academic year in September 2021, it was too early to be sure whether this would be possible in light of the current Covid 19 pandemic sitatuation.

Speaking in Abu Dhabi, Mr. Al Hammadi said that "The expectation is we will be back to normal. But you are aware with this pandemic nothing is for sure". He noted that despite the disruption during the pandemic, teachers, parents and the country's leaders had ensured students had been able to continue their education.

The Minister expected that the learning model for next year is likely to be the closest to normality since February 2020, when the pandemic disrupted global education. A decision whether face to face learning would be fully implemented would be based on the pandemic situation later in the year.

Currently, most government-run schools are closed, while private schools are operating a mix of online learning and in-class teaching. At present, all schools in the Northern Emirates are closed after surges in several areas.